{"id":1556,"date":"2016-05-27T15:05:52","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T15:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/blog\/facts-about-electrical-circuit-interrupters\/"},"modified":"2016-05-27T15:05:52","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T15:05:52","slug":"facts-about-electrical-circuit-interrupters","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/blog\/facts-about-electrical-circuit-interrupters\/","title":{"rendered":"Facts about Electrical Circuit-Interrupters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: left;height: 234px;margin: 10px 20px;width: 450px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/878\/2018\/07\/6.20circuit.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Electrical circuit-interrupters are devices designed to prevent electrical fires and shocks. Since these hazards are quite common, especially in older homes, it has become mandatory to install electrical circuit-interrupters. Here are some essential facts about these protective devices:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>There are 2 types of electrical circuit-interrupters <\/strong>installed in homes: AFCIs (arc-fault circuit-interrupters) and GFCIs (ground-fault circuit-interrupters).<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>AFCIs<\/strong> <strong>prevent fires in electrical switches<\/strong> from occurring by shutting off the circuit when an unintentional arc (discharge of electricity) occurs within the circuit.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>GFCIs<\/strong> <strong>greatly reduce the risk of electrical shock<\/strong> by shutting off electricity in a circuit when a person comes in contact with both a faulty appliance and a grounded surface.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>Both AFCIs and GFCIs can be installed<\/strong> as a receptacle outlet or as a circuit breaker in a panel board.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>The 2014 National Electrical Code<\/strong> requires both AFCI and GFCI protection for 15 and 20 amp circuits in residential constructions.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>AFCIs should be installed in<\/strong> all areas of a newly constructed home, excluding outside areas, garages and bathrooms.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>GFCIs should be installed in<\/strong> bathrooms within 6\u2019 of sinks, bathtubs and shower stalls, on kitchen countertops, in laundry areas, unfinished basements, crawl spaces, garages, boathouses and outdoor areas.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>Appliances that have a history of being a shock hazard<\/strong>, such as drinking fountains, vending machines, dishwashers and boat hoists, should also have GFCI protection.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>A licensed technician should install<\/strong> all AFCIs and GFCIs, no matter if they\u2019re circuit-type or breaker-type.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>AFCIs and GFCIs should be tested<\/strong> once a month to ensure they are working correctly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Unfortunately, AFCIs do not provide complete protection from electrical fires in your home. Take a look at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/blog\/what-are-causes-electrical-fires\">this article<\/a> to learn the major causes of home electrical fires and how to avoid them. For professional fire, water and mold restoration services, contact your local PuroClean office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Electrical circuit-interrupters are devices designed to prevent electrical fires and shocks. Since these hazards are quite common, especially in older homes, it has become mandatory to install electrical circuit-interrupters. Here<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"template":"","blog-category":[14],"class_list":["post-1556","blog","type-blog","status-publish","hentry","blog-category-in-the-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/1556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/1556\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/galloway-oh-puroclean-home-savers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-category?post=1556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}